The disclosures herein relate generally to communication equipment shelf systems and more particularly to a high-density splitter shelf system.
High-speed electronic equipment, such as high-speed computer equipment and telecommunications equipment, often require the use of cable assemblies including shielded cables, shielded connector assemblies or both. The space requirements for such equipment may sometimes result in the need to limit the physical size of associated cable assemblies. In such situations, a cable shielded assembly having a compact shielded connector assembly is often required as the bend radius of a cable portion of the cable assembly is fixed for a given size/type of cable.
A DSL splitter shelf (hereinafter the splitter shelf) having a backplane assembly mounted thereon is one example of such equipment in which space requirements may result in the need to limit the physical size of a cable assembly. The splitter shelf generally has a standardized maximum depth (hereinafter the shelf depth) associated therewith. One or more DSL splitter cards are mounted physically on the splitter shelf and are electrically connected to a corresponding card edge connector of the backplane assembly. The shelf depth must account for a combined depth of an DSL splitter card (hereinafter the splitter card) mounted on the splitter shelf and for one or more backplane cable assemblies connected to a corresponding backplane connector of the backplane assembly. Exceeding the shelf depth is generally unacceptable.
Each one of the splitter cards mounted on the splitter shelf carries a plurality of communication lines. For a given shelf configuration (i.e. shelf width and shelf height), the total number of communications lines capable of being carried in the splitter shelf largely dictates the density of the backplane connectors. Accordingly, as the number of communication lines on each splitter card increases and/or the number of cards mounted on the splitter shelf increases, so does the required number of backplane connectors.
Conventional communication equipment shelf systems exhibit a number of limitations particularly as the density of communication lines within a shelf system increases. A first limitation is the difficulty in physically accommodating a required number of backplane connectors for a given planar size of a backplane circuit substrate of the backplane assembly. A second limitation is the difficulty in safely routing a backplane cable assembly to each one of the backplane connectors without exceeding the shelf depth requirement and without having a connector of one backplane cable assembly interfere with that of another. A third limitation is the elevated cost and increased space requirements resulting from providing a dedicated set of backplane connectors for each one of a plurality of communication cards (e.g. splitter cards) within a splitter shelf.
Therefore, a communication equipment shelf system capable of overcoming at least a portion of the limitations discussed above is useful.
One embodiment of a communication equipment shelf system includes a communication shelf, a backplane assembly, a plurality of communication cards and a plurality of backplane connector assemblies. The communication equipment shelf has a prescribed shelf depth. The prescribed shelf depth is defined between a first face and a second face of the communication equipment shelf. The backplane assembly is mounted on the communication equipment shelf at a position between the first face and the second face of the communication equipment shelf. The backplane assembly includes a backplane circuit substrate. A plurality of card edge connectors is mounted on a first side of the backplane circuit substrate and a plurality of backplane connectors is mounted on a second side of the backplane circuit substrate. A first row of the backplane connectors is offset from a second row of the backplane connectors. A pair of the backplane connectors of the first row and an associated one of the backplane connectors of the second row are electrically connected to each of a pair of the card edge connectors for carrying communication signals therebetween. The plurality of communication cards is mounted on the communication equipment shelf. Each one of the communication cards has a card edge portion thereof engaged with a corresponding one of the card edge connectors. Each one of the communication cards is positioned between the first face of the communication equipment shelf and the first side of the backplane circuit substrate. Each one of the backplane connectors has a 180 degree backplane connector assembly of a corresponding one of the backplane cable assemblies attached thereto. Each one of the backplane cable assemblies is capable of being confined between the second face of the communication equipment shelf and the second side of the backplane circuit substrate.